Bugs Bunny first appeared 82 years ago: see the scene where he made his debut

Among the cartoons that millennials love is “Looney Tunes,” a series that owes much of its success to the popularity of a single character: Bugs Bunny.

The significance of the so-called “lucky rabbit” goes beyond Warner Bros. productions, as his influence is matched only by another cartoon icon: Mickey Mouse.

July 27, 2022 is a very special date for the world’s most famous rabbit, as it marks 82 years since his debut in the entertainment industry. Despite his age, Bugs Bunny has managed to stay relevant in popular culture.

Bugs Bunny: this was the debut of the “Looney Tunes” rabbit.

July 27, 2022 marks 82 years since the first appearance of Bugs Bunny. According to “Variety,” there were other animated rabbits before him that didn’t achieve the same popularity, such as the one featured in the 1938 animated short “Porky’s Hare Hunt.”

In 1940, Bugs Bunny starred in his own short film with Elmer Grumpy called ‘A Wild Hare’, which was directed by Tex Avery and told a short story where the rabbit tricked the hunter into not shooting him with his shotgun weapon.

In that little episode of “Merrie Melodies,” Elmer was hunting for game in the woods when he came across a rabbit hole. To attract the inhabitant of this hiding place, the hunter decides to use a carrot as bait.

Using the intelligence he would be known for in the future, Bugs not only avoids falling for such a simple trick, but makes Elmer’s life miserable until the man decides to give up. Interestingly, this episode was also the first time Bugs Bunny uttered the line that would make him world famous: “What’s up, man?”

On September 10, 1940, “Variety” published an article announcing that the new Warner Bros. character would have a new short, called “Elmer’s Pet Rabbit” In 1946, the production company announced the same way that Bugs Bunny gained popularity. poll by ‘Showmen’s Trade Review’ magazine.

Bugs Bunny: The Warner Bros. Rabbit in Today’s World

The 1940s and 1950s were the best decades for Bugs Bunny, as they were when “Long Haired Hare” (1947), “The Barber of Seville” (1957), “What’s the Opera, Doctor?” (1957) and “Knighty Knight Bugs” (1958), the latter even winning an Academy Award for Best Animated Short.

The years have passed, but Bugs Bunny has never ceased to be in the minds of fans, thanks to the efforts of Warner Bros. executives to keep “Looney Tunes” relevant.

In 1987, “Variety” announced “The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show,” an animated series in which the rabbit shared the credits with Tweety the canary. In 1996, Bugs and his friends met Michael Jordan in “Space Jam”, with whom they played a basketball game against a gang of aliens.

Although “Space Jam: A New Legacy” did not do well with fans as expected, Bugs Bunny continues to release productions, such as “Bugs Bunny Builders”, a preschool series starring the “lucky rabbit”, Daffy Duck, Porky , Piolin and Lola Bunny, where young children are taught the importance of sharing and other values.

Starting in 2020, an animated series called “Looney Tunes Cartoons” is available on the HBO Max platform, where Bugs and his friends have new adventures, aimed at both young audiences and fans who grew up with these characters.